Mental health, addiction take center stage in Ohio governor's State of the State address

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Ohio's governor made mental health and addiction challenges a big part of his state of the state address Wednesday.

It was his first State of the State since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the last of his first term.

MORE | Mental health, Appalachia, state parks on DeWine's list in State of the State speech

DeWine noted in his speech that mental illness is on the rise, drug overdose deaths remain at a record level, and suicide rates are increasing in rural Ohio and minority communities.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 5,200 Ohioans died by drug overdose in 2020.

RELATED | Gov. DeWine puts spotlight on mental health in schools during State of State address

Preliminary data from the Ohio Department of Health shows that suicides in Ohio have increased in recent years with Gallia County having the highest suicide death rate followed by Paulding and Jackson County.

From 2011 to 2020, the number and rate of suicide deaths among ages 10-24 increased 6%.

The Republican governor vowed to invest resources in Ohio's behavioral health workforce, crisis response services, increased prevention efforts, and more residential and outpatient services.

“The future Ohio that I envision has the best, most robust behavioral health workforce in the country — a workforce that is hailed as heroic and valued as a vital part of our healthcare system," DeWine said.

DeWine added there will be specific proposals for untreated addiction and mental illness in the coming weeks.

The governor spoke about the creation of the Ohio Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence, dubbed OhioRISE, which aims to keep more families with kids who have behavioral issues together.

He also praised state spending on schools to provide for on-site medical clinics, additional counselors and mental health services, prevention, and after-school care as well as s new training and programming around childhood trauma and mental health.

As for addiction, he said Ohio has more than doubled its medication-assisted drug treatment capacity and has dramatically increased crisis stabilization services.

But more can be done, he said.

"My friends, the system isn’t broken — it was just never fully built, and it does not exist everywhere in Ohio. yet!" DeWine said. "And so, we must build it! We must do the work that has never been done."

While the governor says he will have specific proposals on addressing mental health and addiction challenges in the weeks ahead, currently he is at a political crossroads as he faces a four-way GOP primary May 3 amid conservative dissatisfaction with the pandemic steps he took.